Man, 44, Pleads Guilty To Sex Abuse

Denies Molesting Boy

Serious Charges Dropped

July 08, 1993|By LESLIE POSTAL Daily Press

ISLE OF WIGHT — A 44-year-old Carrollton man pleaded guilty Wednesday to sexually abusing a boy he had met through church in 1990.

Edward A. Wayno Jr. denied he ever molested the youth but pleaded guilty as part of a plea bargain because he felt the prosecutor had enough evidence to convict him if the case went to trial, said his attorney, Richard Brydges. In exchange for the guilty plea, Commonwealth's Attorney W. Parker Councill dropped the most serious charges Wayno faced.

Councill said the boy, 10 when the incident occurred, was willing to testify about the abuse. But the plea bargain saved him from having to take the witness stand and from having his apparently troubled life dissected in court.

For Wayno and his family, the decision to accept the plea bargain was ``gut-wrenching,'' Brydges said. But Wayno decided it was better to accept the agreement - which could mean he won't spend any time behind bars - than to risk a more serious conviction and a long prison sentence, he said.

Wayno, who works as a laboratory technician at a local hospital, is married and is a father of four.

Wayno pleaded guilty to one felony charge of taking indecent liberties with a child and to three misdemeanor charges of sexual battery. Sodomy charges against him were dropped. The charges he pleaded guilty to carry a maximum sentence of eight years, but the state's sentencing guidelines call for no active prison sentence. Brydges said he was confident Wayno would not spend any time behind bars.

Councill said Wayno met the boy a number of years ago at a Smithfield church. Wayno befriended the youth and sometimes took him to church activities and other events, like softball games. On June 17, 1990, Wayno planned to take the boy to one of these activities. Instead, Wayno drove to his home, where he molested the youth, Councill said.

The boy did not tell his parents what happened until last year, some two years later. Councill said other people who knew Wayno reported they had witnessed ``suspicious conduct'' between Wayno and the boy.

But Brydges said that the boy made up the story and that his school records indicate a history of emotional problems. Wayno maintains he wasn't even in town the day the alleged molestation took place, he added.